Analyst Downgrades: Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc, Lumentum Holdings Inc, and Orbital ATK Inc

Analysts downwardly revised their ratings and price targets on Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX), Lumentum Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:LITE), and Orbital ATK Inc (NYSE:OA)

Josh Selway

Aug 11, 2016 at 9:27 AM

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Analysts are weighing in on biotech stock Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX), optical products specialist Lumentum Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:LITE), and defense stock Orbital ATK Inc (NYSE:OA). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on VRX, LITE, and OA.

VRX is looking at a 9% drop when the market opens, on news the company is being investigated for possibly defrauding insurers by hiding its relationship with "phantom pharmacy" Philidor. Meanwhile, Wells Fargo has reiterated its "underperform" rating, saying about the investigation, "the risks not only include reputational harm, but include potential financial damages and fines, and also potential commercial sanctions or restrictions." Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc closed last night at $27.32, unable to take advantage of a rare round of positive analyst attention. Most analysts are on the fence when it comes to the long-time underperformer, with the majority of covering firms handing out a "hold" rating.

Morgan Stanley joined a number of brokerage firms that yesterday raised their price targets on LITE post-earnings, upping its mark to $27 from $20. However, the firm also downgraded the stock's rating to "underweight" from "equal weight." The bearish note comes despite Lumentum Holdings Inc's 44.5% year-to-date gain, with the shares settling at $31.82 on Wednesday, after touching a record high earlier in the session. In the meantime, call buying has dominated the options pits, as LITE's 50-day call/put volume ratio at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) comes in at 3.09.

OA has edged 1.6% higher ahead of the bell, looking to bounce back from yesterday's steep decline. The stock will need to overcome price-target cuts from Credit Suisse and Barclays, which reduced their respective marks to $86 and $97. Orbital ATK Inc could now find round-number support at the $70 mark, as it closed Wednesday at $70.79. Nonetheless, there's a chance additional bearish notes could weigh on the shares, since six of the seven covering analysts rate them a "strong buy," with zero "sells" on the books.

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